


Christmas-Related Shenanigans

by AuthenticAussie



Series: Semi-Related Shenanigans [5]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Comedy, Hijinks & Shenanigans, I am glad that mistletoe has it's own tag, M/M, Mistletoe, Multi, Romantic Comedy, Unresolved Romantic Tension, mentions of pell chaka crocodile and kohza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-16
Updated: 2014-07-16
Packaged: 2018-02-08 20:06:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1954551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuthenticAussie/pseuds/AuthenticAussie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vivi tries to break the curse keeping her stuck to the Merry's second floor bedroom, and Christmas draws ever closer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas-Related Shenanigans

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lolle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lolle/gifts).



"Last time I ask _YOU_ for a favour!" Nami screamed from downstairs, the door slamming loudly, and judging by the yelps of the wizard on his way out, she'd probably slammed it on his ass or electrocuted him while he was leaving. Zoro would have sniggered at her anger, but honestly he was getting a bit fed up with everyone claiming they could free Vivi and then not delivering on their promises. 

This last guy had been a bit of a perv as well, leading to Nami chucking him from their doorstep before he'd tried anything else. While usually Nami would have sucked it up and used it to her advantage, the Mage hadn't even been able to do anything, and she was at the end of her fuse as Christmas drew ever closer.

Everyone in the apartment was feeling the stress, in fact. This year was the first they were celebrating with Luffy, and while that was no big deal, _no_ - _one_ really knew what to buy him.

Oh sure, he'd be happy with anything but everyone (Zoro especially,) wanted to get the grinning boy something special, and choosing presents for the others wasn't exactly easy either.

So on top of the usual Christmas present stress, they had to deal with the knowledge that unless they got Vivi free - and soon - Crocodile was going to take over her kingdom, and the elf girl was going to be stuck in the room forever.

Vivi’s mood, as time went on, grew worse and worse. The girl was constantly trying to leave the apartment, managing to get outside before she started looking lost and flickering in and out of focus, and then she’d immediately vanish, appearing back in the room.

As the city came to life with mistletoe and lights, Christmas decorations hanging from the trees and cold settling over the streets, Vivi’s own light started fading away.

And then Nico Robin came to stay.

Zoro decided from the very moment that he didn’t like her, but Luffy had somehow gotten everyone (including him, though he wasn’t going to admit it, or if he did, he was going to blame it on _feelings_ rather than just Luffy’s irresistible charm) wrapped around his little finger, and so she stayed.

Of course, the fact that she was a mage – and a curse-breaker, at that – probably convinced everyone else. (Except maybe Sanji. The shitty curly brow was probably taken in the moment she walked through the door.)

Interlacing her fingers on the table, and gazing at everyone gathered around her, unaffected by the few glowers and suspicious glances sent her way Nico Robin looked every inch the noted scholar she claimed to be. “Curse breaking such as this is relatively easy. It would simply be a mid-level reversal spell along with a castor spell to prevent any more curses on her until after – Christmas, did you say?”

“What do you want us to pay you?” Nami asked with narrowed eyes, already trying to see the downside of Robin’s admittedly fantastic deal. Zoro crossed his arms and levelled another glare at her, but was soon distracted moments later by Luffy’s happy chuckle in his ear, and the vampire waving around a beetle he’d found.

Of course _that_ dissolved the kitchen into a panic.

Zoro was insanely glad that Nami and Sanji had proceeded to half climb each other in an effort to get away from the bug, because it meant that he could then hide the fact that his cheeks were burning. Luffy’s laughter only intensified at their reaction, and Nico Robin hid a smile behind one delicate hand.  
“Go put that outside,” Zoro ordered, pointing to the door, and with a pout Luffy headed outside, still merrily carrying the beetle in one hand. This did not please Sanji or Nami, who glared at him venomously as he ducked out the door.

“I would like the room, if it’s not too much trouble,” Robin stated evenly, smiling pleasantly at Nami, who looked confused for a moment before re-gathering her wits and smoothing her shirt, firmly pushing away Sanji.

“The-?”

“The room that your cursed princess is staying in, please. It has quite a lovely view, and it seems to be very interesting staying here.” Robin’s grin widened incrementally, and Zoro was _sure_ that her eyes flicked over to Luffy, who’d just entered completely _covered_ in mud. Zoro groaned, unsure about _how_ Luffy managed to get himself so dirty in such a short amount of time but sure he didn’t want to know anyway.

“I’ll just go up and get started then,” Robin stated, pushing herself away from the table and grabbing her staff from where it rested. Making her way up the stairs as Nami scolded Luffy for traipsing mud inside, Zoro glanced from her to Luffy, before following after the curse-breaker to make sure that she didn’t try anything to hurt his friend.

As soon as she got in the room, Vivi started shrieking, and Zoro was insanely glad that he’d followed along. As footsteps pounded up the staircase, he drew his sword and held it against Nico Robin’s throat, the tip resting against her Adam’s apple.

“My, I wasn’t expecting _this_ reaction,” the dark-haired mage said, eyeing the blade with almost no degree of worry on her perfectly calm features. “Honestly, spells are very unreliable sometimes.”

Vivi, pressed as far into the corner as she could go, had her chest rising and falling like a rabbit’s – much too fast to be safe.

“Vivi?” He heard Nami ask in concern, but he refused to take his eyes away from Robin, the woman obviously dangerous.

“What’d you do to Vivi?” Luffy demanded angrily, and Zoro’s eyes flicked over to the vampire standing next to him.

 _Nope!_ This was _not_ the time to be getting distracted.

Robin sighed heavily, purposefully letting her staff clatter to the floor and nudging it away, and only then did Zoro lower his sword from her throat, though he didn’t sheathe the weapon.“ _I_ haven’t done anything.”

“She works for Crocodile!” Vivi exclaimed, face white as a sheet, and both Luffy and Zoro glared even more at the mage.

“ _Worked_ , your highness. As you can see from the lack of bond charms, there have been quite a few broken promises lately.” Robin indicated her sleeves, and while Zoro had no idea what ‘bond charms’ were, Vivi’s panicked expression calmed somewhat, her chin lifting.

“Prove it, then.”

Robin smirked slightly, as though she were waiting for this very moment, and the curse-breaker held out one palm, which she absently twisted, revealing a blue circlet that Vivi obviously recognised, judging by her surprised gasp. “Kohza sent me from Alaburna to give this too you. He told me to tell you that Pell and Chaka miss you very much, and that the dungeons aren’t very comfortable.”

Vivi’s eyes widened, her mouth dropping open slightly, and her voice was low and heart-breakingly quiet to Zoro’s ears. “The dungeons?”

Robin nodded, a serious expression replacing her smirk, and Vivi swallowed before standing, her back ramrod straight. “Well then, curse-breaker, let’s see you break this.”

Zoro felt his brow furrow, and as he glanced to the others, he could see their own expressions mirror his hesitation.

“Vivi,” Chopper started, worry in every word, “Are you sure?”

Vivi cast him a comforting smile, giving his head a pat, “Of course Chopper! What sort of princess would I be if I couldn’t handle a little magic from time to time?”

The were-deer sniffled, and everyone knew that Vivi was avoiding the real question; _are you sure you want to trust her?_

Standing again, gaze hardening, Vivi spread her arms and waited. Watching Robin suspiciously - though he knew next to nothing about magic and would have a hard time figuring out if she were casting another curse - Zoro watched as gold and light pink blossom-like sparks of magic bloomed along Robin's arms, crackling in the air.

Mumbling unheard words beneath her breath, Robin raised her arms and flexed her fingers, the magic she wielded dancing along her forearm to solidify Vivi. The princess looked stunned for a moment, clenching and unclenching her hands, and when she didn't fall through the ceiling, Zoro saw a massive smile erupt on her face. Luffy leapt forwards to give her a hug, but the swordsman reacted quickly, grabbing the vampire before he could accidentally interfere with the spell.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Vivi cried, waving frantically at the others as she began to fade again, but this time - unlike all the other times when Zoro could see the wall through her - he saw desert sand and golden walls surrounding her instead. "Please come and visit me sometime! We'll have a feast, I promise!"

"Goodbye Vivi!" Luffy shouted back to her, jumping up and almost falling from Zoro's grasp had the swordsman not quickly adjusted his grip, "Get your kingdom back and bring me some meat when you come and visit us again!"

"Be careful Mellorine!"

"Stay safe Vivi!"

"Please be careful Vivi! We'll miss you!"

Their farewell babble blended into each other, with Zoro only just distinguishing them from one another, and it only died down as Vivi finally finished fading, the whorls of magic on Nico Robin fading along with her.

There was a moment of silence as everyone stopped, unsure of what to do next, and it was Robin who broke the silence, brushing off her sleeves to get rid of any remaining sparks.

"I don't suppose I can still keep the room."

xxx

While the topic raised much debate amongst the other inhabitants of the apartment, it was Luffy who put his foot down and firmly said that they promised Robin the room if she got rid of Vivi's curse. As she'd done that, it was unfair of them not to let her stay. 

Nami, faced by the surprisingly sensible logic, had folded soon after that, Sanji following his weather witch's lead and everyone else conceding a few arguments later, leaving only Zoro to oppose her stay.

"I don't trust her," Zoro muttered, but folded anyway, knowing that the majority ruled.

xxx

A few weeks after that came Christmas, and by that point Zoro was half exhausted from dodging mistletoe wreathes. While they certainly did have a few last year (they lived in a house with _Sanji,_ how would they not?) it seemed as though every doorway in the apartment had been decorated this year, and Zoro was _not_ pleased.

Even more so when he realized that Luffy had absolutely _no_ concept of looking up before tackling Zoro, and while he usually did appreciate Luffy's clingy nature, at this moment, however, he cursed the very thought that had ever made him start liking the vampire.

For one thing, in the months since Ace had come to stay - and the weeks after Vivi had left - he'd been dropping pretty blunt hints and flirting with Luffy; but Luffy had never reacted in any way other than his normal grin or laughter, or potentially in confusion when Zoro said something that he could only just remember from ages ago.

(Case in point;

"Hey Lufe, how many letters has the alphabet got?"

"Mmm," Luffy shrugged, not even bothering to count on his fingers, "No idea! Why?")

Trying to figure out the romantic intentions of a _tree_ might have been easier.

In addition to his inability to figure out if Luffy liked him or not, it seemed as though _everyone_ in the apartment had it out for him. They'd purposefully made him hang up mistletoe the first week they did Christmas decorations, and while he did the first few without complaining, the ones after started making him extremely suspicious.

Especially after Luffy kept getting sent to wherever Zoro was by Nami or Sanji. (And now _Robin_ was getting into it as well, for God's sake.)

The first few times he'd been lucky enough to be taking a break when Luffy waltzed through the door, but on the last time, he'd just starting climbing off the ladder when Luffy bounded in, almost knocking him over.

"Five second's kiss please, dearies!" A happy - and for some reason, London-accented - voice came from above them, and Zoro honestly felt a bit like laughing hysterically.

He was meant to be _avoiding_ doing anything to jeopardise his friendship with Luffy, not going around getting stuck under mistletoe with him!

The vampire looked curiously at the mistletoe, brow furrowing just slightly, and waved his hand underneath it. “Does mistletoe usually do that, Zoro?”

 _Agh_ , he was being cute again. Distracting himself from thoughts of strawhatted vampires (and their inherent cuteness,) Zoro glanced at the mistletoe.

Though death-glared would’ve been a better way to describe it.

“It’s charmed, Luffy.”

“Five second’s kiss, please!” The mistletoe repeated again, and Luffy laughed, squishing Zoro’s cheeks between his palms and lightly kissing the surprised human before he could blink.

Alright, this wasn’t exactly how he envisioned kissing Luffy (Zoro would much rather have preferred it to be less ridiculously innocent and more him surprising the vampire,) and quite honestly he felt like a fish, cheeks thoroughly squished by Luffy’s hands, but considering the amount of times he’d actually thought about kissing Luffy, actually _doing_ it was so much _better_.

Luffy's hands were cold against Zoro's cheeks, but Zoro could feel the heat that rushed through him warming up his skin with flutters and _warmth_ and it felt so _nice_ to have Luffy close to him that Zoro never wanted their kiss to end.

“Is that okay?” Luffy said, pulling from Zoro and glancing up at the mistletoe, and with a certainty he could feel in his bones, Zoro knew that Luffy had stayed as oblivious as ever, and had probably only kissed him because he thought that was the _rule_ when it came to getting stuck under mistletoe.

It didn’t hurt, realising that.

Not even a little.

(But maybe a lot.)

He refused to hang up anymore mistletoe after that.

**Author's Note:**

> TBH I rather see some of the strawhats (or at least Zoro) celebrating Hanukah or other holidays like that more so than Christmas, but I totally support Luffy wanting to celebrate both b/c days of presents and then one big day for gifts?? Yes please. 
> 
> Of course, Christmas was just a bit simpler to do for this, so I stuck with that.
> 
> (Lolles I'm hope you're happy this thing spawned a ten thousand word monstrosity. This is my revenge.)


End file.
